A Moss Family Christmas
by kcat1971
Summary: [Transitions Universe Story #7] Josh & Donna spend Christmas with her family. (December 2006. Before the Santos Administration begins.)
1. Chapter 1

"Three days, Josh. I absolutely cannot do more than three days."

"You can hang by your thumbs for five days."

"Would you want me to have to do that?"

"Well, no."

"Well, this is going to be worse. Three days."

She'd been absolutely adament when I booked the tickets. In fact, at one point she'd tried to convince me that arriving at 8pm on the 24th and leaving at 7am on the 26th counted as three days. I'd gently but firmly insisted that we spend at least 72 hours with her family, so we are arriving at 10am on the 23rd and we are leaving at 10 am on the 26th.

She'd just rolled her eyes and said "I guess you have to find out some things for yourself."

I look at Donna staring out the window of the plane and smile at her reflection. It's her family. They raised her. How bad could it be?


	2. Chapter 2

As I'm staring out the window, I'm going over my mental check list. If there is any hope of surviving this trip with both my marriage, and a relationship, such as it is, with my parents in tact, I need to be prepared. Josh has high expectations for this trip. He grew up in a very loving home, with parent who supported his decisions and didn't try to force him into being their version of a perfect child. He didn't rebel because there was no need to.

Josh likes me for who I am and he really hasn't fully grasped that my parents don't. When he does, it isn't going to be pretty. So the longer I can go pleasing my parents by looking the right way and saying the right things and being a dutiful daughter- the less time there will be for things to get ugly and for Josh to feel the need to come to my defense. His reflection smiles at me and I take a deep breath. Right. Back to the list.

Christmas Presents: Perfectly wrapped and previously shipped. Not being a girl on a buget really made that easier. I was careful not to do anything too showy. I definitely shouldn't upstage my parents. But I think I did a good job. Having the capacity to spend a little more made it easier to find the perfect gifts for everyone. Of course, Mom had emailed lists and I certainly know better than to deviate from the approved categories.

Clothes for the Candlelight Service: Josh was a little surprised that he needed to pack his nicest suit, until I explained that if we were there, attending church was not optional. Now that there are grandchildren, we get to go to the 8pm service. If he'd listened to me on the arrival time, we could have skipped it. But now we're stuck. God help us.

Christmas Pajamas: Josh doesn't know about these yet but they are packed ready to go. Yes, we do the whole get a pair of PJs on Christmas Eve and wear them to bed so you have cute photos in the morning thing. When we were little we always attended the midnight service. More often than not I went to bed with a stinging backside under my PJs because I had misbehaved during church. At least I don't have to worry about that anymore.

Christmas Sweaters: This one could get me in trouble. There is a pretty good chance that someone in the family is going to get Josh an ugly Christmas sweater. The only way to avoid him having to wear it is a preemptive strike. Therefore, Josh and I are giving each other matching fair isle sweaters. The cuteness of us matching should circumvent the requirement to change into any clothing item that happens to come our way. Josh doesn't know about this either. I can't say he's going to love it, but it's for his own good.


	3. Chapter 3

As we land at the Dane County Regional Airport, Donna mutters "I suppose there's no turning back now." As we taxi to the gate I look at her closely. I wonder how much this is like golfing on our honeymoon. Does she just need a little push when it comes to her family? Am I being patronizing by thinking that I should give her that push? I take her hand and look her in the eye.

"Actually, its not too late. We can disembark, walk up to a ticket agent and get a flight back home if its what you really want. Is it what you really want?"

"No, but thanks for offering. Josh, just remember, there are reasons that I'm not very close to my family. I don't want to cut them out of my life completely but you are the only family I need. If you decide that you've had enough just say the word."

I give her hand a squeeze and she puts her head on my shoulder and closes her eyes. It reminds me of the phone call to tell them we had eloped. I could only hear Donna's side of it, but I have a pretty good idea what her Mom had said. Since then there have been several emails and a couple of phone calls to plan this visit. Everything seemed fine, everyone was very cordial. But the closer we got to this trip, the more Donna seemed on edge. I wish I could take all the stress away from her. Well, the least I can do is tryto get along. I'm just going to go with the flow and keep the cheesehead jokes to myself.


	4. Chapter 4

It doesn't take long to get our luggage. In less than a half hour we have our things and we are standing in the pick up area waiting for Sean.

"Wow, this is a great airport!" Josh suddenly exclaims with a grin.

I give him a long look and shake my head. He's really working at having a positive attitude.

"No, really." He insists. "We got our luggage so fast. And we are so close to your parents' condo. This is really convenient." Before I can respond I hear my nieces.

"Aunt Donna! Aunt Donna!"

"Anna! Carly! It's so good to see you two!" I greet them.

"Uncle Sean is out front." Anna tells me. Then she sticks her hand out to Josh and says

"I'm Adrianna, but you can call me Anna." My sister has trained her well. Josh shakes her hand and says-

"Josh Lyman."

Anna rolls her eyes. Maybe there is a little bit of her Aunt in her after all.

"I know who you are, Uncle Josh."

"Right." He looks over at Carly and smiles at her. "And you're Carly. Is that short for something?'

"No." Carly says- "I was named after Grandma, but my Mom said that one Carlotta Moss was enough."

I always did like Becky. My brother married well.

When we get out to the SUV, Sean hops out and opens the tailgate to help Josh with the luggage. For a second they size each other up. Sean is a few years younger than Josh but his hair is already greying a bit. His oldest is a teenager. I think they do that to you. They are about the same height. Sean might be an inch taller but its not noticeable. For a second, I wonder if Sean is going to pull some sort of big brother crap but he just grabs a suitcase and throws it in the back, then turns back to Josh.

"Hey Josh, nice to finally meet you." Sean claps Josh's shoulder as he pumps his hand. Sean is the epitome of making a stranger comfortable when he wants to. There is a reason he took over the insurance agency for my Dad.

"Sean." Josh says warmly, the politican knows how to be polite too. They actually have a lot in common.

So far, so good. Hopefully this can all last 72 hours.

I let Josh have the front seat and I slide into the back next to the girls. I slip them each a roll of livesavers and give them the "don't tell" look. Sean catches my eye in the rear view mirror and just shakes his head. Five minutes in and I'm already causing trouble. I shrug. I know he won't rat me out.

Josh starts asking Sean all sorts of questions about the SUV. How long's he had it? How does it handle? Does Becky like driving it? What kind of mileage?

Sean answers all his questions. Then says-

"You know I sort of figured you for a hybrid kind-of-guy."

"Nah," Josh says "I'd really like one of these, but they aren't very practical for DC. Maybe once we don't live in the city."

I smile at Sean in the mirror.

"So did Finn and Julie get in last night?" I ask.

"Yeah. They got in late. Marco slept in your room last night. But Becky's going to ask Julie if he can stay with us tonight. She's looking for a baby fix."

"He's so cute!" Carly exclaims.

"How's Julie doing?"

Sean laughs. She's getting pretty large but you didn't hear that from me. As he pulls up to a stop sign, he turns around and gives each of us a look.

"Girls. You did not hear that from me. Understood?" Man, he's got the Dad look down. We all nod obediently.

As Sean turns back around, Josh says "I need to learn that look."

Sean raises his eyebrows and Josh quickly backtracks.

"No, no. Nothing to announce. I just meant for the future. Although, if it works on Donna . . . "

Sean bursts out laughing then.

"Yeah man, good luck with that."


	5. Chapter 5

We are only about 5 minutes from the condo and Donna and the girls are making small talk in the back seat, so I run through the family members in my head. At first Donna thought I was joking when I asked her to make me a facebook of everyone who was going to be at this family Christmas, but she eventually did. I like to be prepared.

Dad and Mom. I'm still not sure what I'm going to call them. Mr. & Mrs. Moss seems too formal. Jim and Lottie seems too casual. I asked Donna if I should call them Dad and Mom and she said- wait and see what my mother says. So I guess we're going to wing it.

Now that I've met Sean, I'm feeling more comfortable. I don't know what Donna is worried about. He's perfectly nice. He's 40. He's been married to Becky for 15 years. They have Conor, 14, Liam, 12, and Carly, 10.

Next down the stair step, I find it amusing how precisely spaced Donna's siblings are, is Isabella, 38. Bella is married to Bob. They got married the year after Sean and Becky. Their kids are Adrianna, 13, and Aiden, 11. Bella apparently likes alliteration. According to Donna, Bella is "practically perfect" a fact that seems to mostly annoy Donna. Bob's job involves dairy.

Finn is the closest to Donna. He's 36. He and Julie are both teachers near Green Bay. They've been married 5 years. Marco is three, and number 2 is due in February. Donna said Finn is the quiet one. He's never made waves but he left town for college and never looked back. The name Marco Moss makes me think he has some desire to please his parents. Or maybe Bella. Then all of a sudden the name Leo Lyman pops into my head. I don't know where that came from but I sure do like the sound of it. Maybe I'd better not throw any stones on the alliteration thing.

Then there's Donna. She just turned 34. Baby of the family, and apparently the black sheep. I never would have guessed. She did well in school and was quite the floutist. I'm hoping to hear some "band camp" stories this weekend. When I asked her why she was the black sheep she just shrugged her shoulders. I'm curious to watch the family dynamic. If they are mean to her, I'll just take her home and we will cut them out of our lives. But so far, so good.


	6. Chapter 6

Anna and Carly ran in ahead of us to announce our arrival so by the time Sean, Josh & I walk through the door, the family has pretty much gathered. I glance over at Josh wondering if the sheer number of them will be overwhelming, but he's smiling.

"Hi Daddy. Hi Mom. You guys remember Josh. Hey everybody- this is Josh."

There are a chorus of hellos. Josh just grins bigger and says "Hey everybody."

I leave the luggage and walk up to my parents. I give my Dad a big hug and peck on the cheek. Then I give my Mom a kiss on the cheek too. Josh hangs back for a second then reaches out to shake my Dad's hand.

"Good to see you again." He says. Its been 4 years. He met them once during the re-election campaign. Before he can decide whether or not to hug my Mom she says-

"Why don't you two take your luggage upstairs? Lunch will be ready in a few minutes."

When we get up to our room, Josh can hardly contain his excitement.

"This was your room?"

"Yes, I shared with Bella. The boys had the room across the hall."

"Was this your bed?"

I roll my eyes. It's a queen.

"No, we had twin beds. They didn't get this until after I moved out."

He glances around the room, looking a little disappointed. There really isn't anything very personal in it. They turned it into a guest room when I moved in with Dr. Freeride. I feel kind of bad for him so I try to make it a little more interesting.

"Well the dresser, bookshelves and desk are the same. We had two desks, but I think Anna has Bella's old one."

The furniture is a cream colored French provincial. It's really classic and pretty.

"Um, other than the bed, it looks about the same." The floors are hardwood and there is a pretty floral rug. The bedspread is light pink and the window treatments are frilly. It's definitely still a girls room.

Josh walks over to the desk.

"You did your homework here?" I can tell he is trying to picture a younger me in the room.

"Yes. Until I got into high school, then I pretended to do homework here while I talked on the phone."

"Oh, the naughty girl stories are starting! I thought I'd have to wait to hear them from your parents." He grins at me. I don't know why I feel the need to tell him anything after that comment. But I say-

"When I was 8 I drew on the desk with a sharpie."

"Uh oh."

"Yeah. I tried to get if off but Bella ratted me out."

"How much trouble did you get in?" He's sort of laughing. But it really wasn't funny. I think my parents way over-reacted. Josh and I haven't talked about it but I'm pretty sure he's against corporal punishment. I know I am.

"A lot." I glance at my watch. We'd better go down for lunch.


	7. Chapter 7

Well, Donna's room was kind of a disappointment other than her confession to graffiti. I thought she was going to tell me something funny but the story ended up falling flat. She's usually a lot more humorous when she's self-depracating.

There's nothing disappointing about the lunch spread. There is a ton of food here! There's a full buffet of lunch meat and sandwich stuff, a large salad, and a huge pot of soup on the stove. I should have known. Italian Mom- there would be plenty of food. It's also really nice because I can get what I like and don't have to worry about offending her. I end up making a turkey sandwich and taking some chips.

"Josh- you wanna beer?" Sean asks.

"yeah. Thanks." I'm a little surprised when he hands me a can, but it's got a blue ribbon on it so it can't be too bad. I pop the top and look around for a glass. I notice that Sean just drinks straight from the can. Well, I guess when in Rome . . . Donna's watching me closely as I take a big swig. Oh my god. This stuff is terrible. I really just want to let it dribble out of my mouth, but I have to swallow. Donna smirks to herself and looks away, eyes dancing. I look around and see that nobody is really watching us, so I lean in and whisper directly in her ear:

"Why didn't you warn me?"

She whispers back- "some things you just have to discover for yourself."

"What's with the secrets over there? Something you want to share with the class?" Now that Bella's called attention to us, everyone is looking at us.

I cough a little and try to think of something to say. I look down at what Donna's eating.

"I was just wondering what kind of soup that is. It smells really good."

"Italian Wedding Soup." Donna's Mom says " I'll get you a bowl." Damn. Bad beer and now I have to try something new.

"You're teasing about the name, right?"

"No. That's really what it's called." Her Mom sets a big bowl in front of me. It really does smell good but its got spinach floating in it! Who ever heard of spinach in soup? It also has some sort of tiny pasta, tiny meatballs and carrots. Everyone is watching me. I remind myself that I have to go with the flow. I'd do anything for Donna. So I take a spoonful of the soup.

"This is really good." I hope I don't sound too shocked. The broth and pasta taste fine. I did manage to avoid the spinach. I hope the attention ends up somewhere else before I have to eat that.

Donna looks around and says-

"Hey, where are the kids?"

"Special permission to eat in the basement. I hope they aren't making a mess. I'd better go check on them." Bella heads downstairs.

Then Donna says "is there any Parmesan cheese?" Once her Mom leaves the room Donna quickly picks up her spoon and fishes as much spinach as she can out of my bowl and puts it in hers. God. I love her.


	8. Chapter 8

We survived lunch. 70 hours to go. Josh was a pretty good sport about the beer and the soup. Once I took his spinach, he really seemed to like it. He likes Parmesan cheese. Thank god he didn't make a cheese joke. Italian Wedding is actually one of my favorite soups. If my Mom will give me the receive, maybe I'll try to make it. He might learn to like the spinach or I could just leave it out. He was on his own with the beer. I'm not drinking that crap even for him. He'll be happy to hear that there will be wine at dinner. Mom has a strict 2 glass limit- but I can usually get away with one more. I've got some secret strategies and I usually need the extra fortification.

He's in the living room with "the men" now. I'm a little anxious about having him in there on his own, but I can only do so much. Becky and Bella took the kids to choir practice, so Julie and I are helping Mom clean up from lunch. I'm working on the food, while Julie loads the dishwasher.

"So Mom, Josh really liked the soup. Do you think I could have the recipe?"

Mom looks up a little surprised. "Really? You are going to try to make soup?"

"Never mind," I quickly say, "I probably won't have time. I'll just buy some."

"Okay." She looks disappointed. I don't know what she wants from me. I thought she'd like the idea of giving me the recipe, but she clearly doesn't think I can handle it. I know I'm not that good of a cook, but how hard could soup be?

Julie just watches us and says nothing. I finish putting the food away and go to find Josh.

There is a lot of laughter coming from the den. I poke my head in and see that Josh is laughing along with everyone else. I'm glad he seems to be getting along. I give him a bright smile and go upstairs. I hear little noises coming out of Finn's room. He was in the den and I know Julie's still in the kitchen so I slowly open the door.

Marco is sitting on the bed with his thumb in his mouth and tears streaming down his face. He's making some snuffling noise. He looks miserable. Welcome to the club.

"Hey buddy. I thought it was nap time. Are you ok?" Marco doesn't really know me so I don't really want to just go pick him up. Just then Julie comes upstairs.

"Darn. I was hoping he'd still be asleep. I could really use a nap myself." She really is getting rather large. I wonder if there is more than one in there.

"I could take him. We could go across the hall and read or maybe down to the basement to watch a video." It's been a long time since I babysat but back in the day I was pretty good.

"Oh Donna, that would be great."

She digs around in the suitcase and comes up with a stack of books. Then she grabs a ratty looking stuffed dog off the floor. Marco lights up when she hands it to him and the crying stops. She hands me the books and takes Marco's hand.

"Come on bud, Aunt Donna's going to read you stories." He slides off the bed and they follow me across the hall.

"Can you put him on the bed? I'm really not supposed to lift him if I can help it." Marco seems fine with me. We settle against the backboard and he kind of leans into my side so I wrap my arm around him. He looks like he's still sleepy. As she leaving, Julie says "He usually takes a longer nap. He might go back to sleep. If he does can you just close the door and let Finn know to check up on him?"

"Sure that's no problem." I look down at Marco. So buddy what should we read first? I'm halfway through "Where the Wild Things Are" when I look down and see that Marco's eyes are closed and his breathing is pretty even. I finish the story just to be sure.

I close my eyes and think about the story. Can you really wreak havoc and then go back home?


	9. Chapter 9

Bella's husband is pretty quiet when she's in the room. But now that she's gone he's very outgoing. He's a manager in a milk processing plant and he's got a ton of stories about the people and things that go on there. I may never buy milk again but he's really quite funny. He keeps all of us laughing for over an hour.

Eventually Donna's Dad and Sean start to talk about the Insurance Agency and Finn immediately stands up.

"I'd better go check on Julie and Marco."

"I haven't seen Donna since lunch. I'll go with you."

Donna's Mom is in the living room reading.

"I think they are all upstairs." She offers before we can even ask.

"Thanks Mom" Finn replies. I smile at her but I still don't know what to call her. I just follow Finn up the stairs. Both bedroom doors are closed. So we each quietly turn a knob. As the door opens, I see Donna sleeping with a toddler in her arms and it takes my breath away. I always picture Donna with blonde children but Marco's brown curly hair next to her golden locks brings a smile to my face.

I hear Finn's door shut quietly then he's standing next to me looking at his son and his sister.

"Well that's quite a sight." He says quietly. Then he says- "Do you want a beer?"

I must have made a face because he laughs quietly as he closes the door.

"Not that Pabst Blue Ribbon crap." He says. "I brought some craft beer. It's in the back of the fridge. Sean was just jerking your chain."

"Ah. Then yes, I'd like a beer."

Finn and I sit at the table nursing the beer. We chat a little bit about what classes he and Julie teach and I offer a White House tour anytime. Finally he says-

"you know, growing up here, our parents expected a lot from us- but it wasn't unreasonable. It's not like we had a horrible childhood. Donna's got it in her head that none of us think she measures up, but we're all really proud of her."

Before I can respond we hear someone coming down the stairs. Donna's holding Marco's hand to make sure he doesn't trip.

"Daddy!" Marco runs up to him. Finn's face lights up as he picks up his son. He looks at the two of us. And then he looks around to make sure no one else can hear him. "You know, Julie and I were a little older than the rest of them were when we started having kids. We had a little more life experience and I think it makes us better parents. Don't tell the others, o.k.?" Then he leaves the room.

I wrap Donna in my arms and place a kiss on her temple. She sighs and then says-

"Hey, where'd you get the good beer?"

"Finn has a secret stash. You can have the rest of mine." I hand her the bottle and she finishes it off.


	10. Chapter 10

My moment of peace and quiet with Josh is destroyed a few minutes later as the front door opens. The kids get back from choir practice. Wow. They are loud. Liam and Aiden are trying to convince the others to go outside for a snowball fight. Carly seems like she wants to but she's waiting to see what Anna says. Conor seems to be torn between hanging out with the kids or trying to join the adult conversation. Josh seems to notice and suddenly says-

"Hey Conor- I bet we can take them." I don't know what has gotten into Josh. Has he forgotten that he's not really an Outdoor's man? It's cold out there!

"No fair! Liam and Aiden exclaim. "You guys are way bigger than us."

"What if the girls are on your team too?" Josh asks. "The four of you against the two of us. What do you say?"

I know what I'd say- Josh doesn't know what he's getting himself into. Anna is a pitcher on a really good softball team and both Liam and Aiden play travel baseball in the summer. I think Conor also realizes that they would probably be in over their heads. So he says-

"Liam and Aiden- why don't you be team captains and we'll divide up evenly."

The coin toss decides that Aiden gets to pick first. He looks really torn between wanting his older cousin or the Uncle he just met. He ends up picking Conor.

Liam quickly picks Anna. He knows that she's got a good arm and even if Josh is an adult, he's a wild card.

Aiden ends up picking Josh next and I'm relieved. I'm sure he'd have been really disappointed if he was picked last. Carly doesn't mind because she ends up on Anna's team.

The kids all go to the mud room to get snow pants on. Josh is wearing jeans with his broad coat, scarf and leather gloves. I start laughing at him. "You can't go out like that."

Josh is slightly offended.

"I have played in the snow before you know. Connecticut gets lots of snow."

"Yes, dear but I'm sure you didn't wear anything like you are wearing right now. Let's see if Dad has something you can borrow."

Once he's properly attired, Josh heads out to the back yard. Conor and Aiden have already made good progress on a pile of snow balls. As soon as Josh walks out all five kids pelt him with snowballs. Apparently they decided to gang up on him and give him a proper welcome to the family. Sucker. Saw that coming a mile away. Once the initial stash of ammo is gone it's a free for all, any semblance of teams long forgotten. At one point I see that Josh has teamed up with Carly against her brothers.

It looks like they are having a great time, but I'm glad to be inside where its warm, watching from the window. The cold really makes my leg ache. A minute later Bella comes up to watch with me.

"He's better with the kids than I expected." She says. "Want to help me make some hot chocolate for them?"


	11. Chapter 11

I finally called "Uncle" (I do like the sound of that) and headed back inside after we built the giant snowman. I helped them get the body into place facing the window and said I'd check out their finished product from inside. As I walk in the door, Bella offers me hot chocolate. I assume its made with local milk and politely decline.

"Coffee?" I ask.

"Of course."

I strip back down to my jeans and sweater and leave a pile of wet stuff on the floor in the mud room. My socks are soaked and the cuffs of my jeans are encrusted with snow. I'd better go up and change my pants.

Once I get upstairs I start rooting through my suitcase. I have another pair of jeans, a pair of comfy sweats and my suit. I wonder if we are supposed to dress for dinner. Well, I'm on vacation. I'm not putting the suit on until Donna tells me I have to. I'd really like to put on the sweats and a sweatshirt but thinking about it- everyone else is wearing jeans and a sweater. I'd better stick to that. I peel off the wet jeans and socks and leave them on the floor. I find a nice pair of wool socks and pull the fresh jeans on. I think I'm presentable.

I head back downstairs to watch the snowman progress from the window. Bella brings me coffee. I smile at her.

"Thanks. Donna doesn't bring me coffee." That's not exactly true. Donna has brought me coffee a few times but it is usually proceeded by some sort of major event. When Donna brings me coffee I get nervous.

"Donna still has to learn how to be a good wife." Bella tells me.

"No, she doesn't." I respond firmly. " She's amazing. I am so lucky."

A few seconds later Donna comes up behind me and wraps her arms around me. I didn't know she was nearby. I kind of hope she overheard that.

The kids are done and trooping back inside.

"Uncle Josh left his stuff on the floor!" We hear Anna shout.

Donna looks at me and raises an eyebrow.

"You'd better go pick that up before my Mother sees it." She says.


	12. Chapter 12

Josh looks a little sheepish and actually goes to pick up his stuff. He's kind of a slob. He's used to living on his own. He tends to just drop his clothes where ever he takes them off. Then runs around right before company comes over or the the night before the cleaning service and throws all the clothes in a hamper. Giving the craziness of our schedules we're keeping the cleaning service and I've told him in no uncertain terms that I'm not his maid. I'm not going to spend my life picking up after him. He needs to put stuff in the hamper. We've been working on it the last four weeks.

Bella gives me a look as soon as Josh leaves the room. She considers taking care of Bob and the kids her job. I'm sure she would have hung Bob's stuff up. Truthfully, she probably would have been waiting for him by the door so he could hand it to her as he took it off. The kids would have known better than to leave their stuff on the floor. Especially at Grandma's house.


	13. Chapter 13

"Thanks for ratting me out, _Anna_." I say as I'm hanging up my stuff. She gives me a look that says "it's your own fault." Her expression is so much like one I've seen on Donna's face a hundred times that I stop in my tracks. I didn't notice a resemblance to Donna until now, but Anna does have blonde hair and bluish eyes. This is what my own teenage daughter could look like someday. I grin at her and she rolls her eyes and walks away. Yep. I think I just got a glimpse of the future.

As I finish up in the mudroom, I suddenly remember that I left jeans on the floor upstairs. Shit. Donna's been on me about this and I really am trying to be better. I rush up the stairs, but when I get to the bedroom I see that Donna has beaten me to it. The jeans are hanging over the back of the desk chair, which she moved over to the heat vent so they can dry out.

She's sitting on the bed holding something.

"Sorry!" I say.

"It's okay. I appreciate that you remembered that you forgot and that you came back to take care of them." She smiles at me.

"We've got a little while before dinner- come lay on the bed with me?"

"Best offer I've had all day."


	14. Chapter 14

"What have you got there?" Josh askes as he climbs onto the bed.

"I"ve got a little gift for you, which you don't deserve but I'm going to give you anyway." I respond saucily.

"I've heard that before, " he says "is it something under your clothes?"

"No, " I laugh, lightly smacking his arm. "These are my high school yearbooks."

"Really?!" He's so excited. I knew he would be. It's a little embarassing, but I'd rather show him these now, in the privacy of our room, instead of having my family share them with him when we are all together.

I hand him the first book. He opens the cover and starts to read an inscription then looks confused.

"The first two are actually Finn's. Except for Sean we only got year books our Junior and Senior years."

"Oh. I guess that makes sense given the age differences. Your parents still ended up with a ten volume set, didn't they?"

Then he looks at the cover page.

"Madison West High School- 1987. Who's that?" He points to the mascot.

"That's Reggie the Regent. Go Lions!" I say gamely.


	15. Chapter 15

This is going to be fun. Donna has flagged all the pages she's on with post-it notes because, well, she's Donna. And I love her for it. I flip to the portrait page. And there she is, looking really young. 1987- that was my first year of law school. I don't usually notice the age difference between us, mostly because she's a mature woman and half the time I'm still 12. But times like this it's glaring.

"I was 14" she says. "Just a year older than Anna is now. I can't believe its been 20 years."

I look closely at the photo, I do see a bit of Anna in there.

The only other pictures of her in this book is in the Band section. There's a group photo that really doesn't show much individuality. Then she points herself out in the back row of an action shot.

"Cute uniforms." I say. She laughs.

"Believe it or not I really liked that Band Uniform the first year. I felt like I had finally arrived. It was nice not to be the tag-a-long little sister anymore."

"So am I going to hear any 'one time at Band Camp' stories?"

"Maybe if you are really good."

She hands me the next book. Sophomore year. Braces, acne and a bad perm. Yikes, what am I supposed to say here? She laughs some more. I love the sound. It seems like she is finally relaxing.

"Yeah. It's bad. I wouldn't show you this if we weren't already married."

"You look . . . cute." I say hesitantly.

"No, I really don't." She insists. "Just remember to back me up when I say no, if any of our girls don't get your curls and want a perm." The thought of girls makes me smile. I'm even looking forward to the eye rolls.

I flip to the Band Section. Still a useless group photo, but also a decent action shot where she's in the front of a line.

"I was a section leader." She says with a small smile.

She hands me the Junior Year book. This one's actually hers so the inscriptions might actually be interesting. I read a few. Nope. They are pretty bland with quite a few spelling errors. One of them stands out. I read it aloud.

"Donna, your the best. Love Freddie Briggs."

"The Freddie Briggs?" I ask. I still remember when she told me that she'd been sixteen.

"Well, I was his first too, so I guess at the time he wrote that I must have been the best." She gets a mischevious look on her face and then says-

"You see, this one time at Band Camp . . ."

"Stop! I changed my mind." I tell her. "I don't want to hear any Band Camp stories." She grins at me.

"You are so naughty." I say, starting to tickle her. I've just rolled on top of her and I'm about to kiss her when I hear an 'ah-em" from the hallway. Shit. I forgot the door is open. Luckily, it's just Finn.

"Don't forget, there are kids around." He says softly. "Not to mention our parents."


	16. Chapter 16

I push Josh off me and sit up. Oh my god. That could have been a disaster. I'm so glad it was just Finn. 64 hours to go. We need to stay strong. I pick the yearbook back up and hand it to him.

"Wow." He says "what a difference a year makes."

The braces and acne are gone and my hair looks good.

"If we have daughters that look like this, I may have to change my position on gun ownership." I know he doesn't really mean it but this is the type of thing he should say in front of my parents. My Dad would love it.

He turns to the Band section and looks at the small head shot with "Donnatella Moss- Junior Drum Major" printed under it.

"That's kind of a big deal, right?" He says.

"Yes." I say softly. I'm pleasantly surprised that he knows that.

The next picture is of the English Literature Club.

"That's Mrs. Morelli." I comment, pointing to her. Writing that memo to the President was one of the nicest things Josh ever did for me. Having that conversation with the President in the Oval Office will always be one of my favorite memories of the Bartlet Administration.

The last picture is of me in a lab coat and goggles, participating in the Science Olympiad. He raises his eyebrows but I just shrug and hand him my Senior Year book.


	17. Chapter 17

There are a lot more post-its in this book. I skip the inscriptions and go straight to the portrait. I don't need to hear about any more "Freddies." I recognize the portrait as the same one hanging in the den. It's still breathtaking.

"Wow. You're gorgeous." Is it weird that I'm talking about a 17 year old? I don't think so. It's Donna. None of the other girls on the page are remotely attractive to me.

I turn to the Band Section. She's in quite a lot of the photos, and there is a larger head shot befitting the Drum Major.

"You don't happen to still have the uniform, do you?" I wiggle my eyebrows at her.

"No silly, we had to turn them in."

"Bummer."

Next there is another Science Olympiad photo. Donna's holding a trophy in the group shot. And there's a picture of her on a podium with several medals around her neck. The caption says that they won regionals and that Donna was the high points earner on the team. I've never heard anything about this. I'm a little surprised. I look at her curiously. She shrugs again.

"I liked science. I was thinking about pre-med." Now I'm stunned. Pre-med?! I guess she did mention Biology in her list of majors.

The last post-it is the school play. My Fair Lady.

"You were Liza?!" That's a really hard part, lots of lines and a cockney accent. You have to be really smart to memorize all of that. I've always known she was exceptional.

"Donna!" Her mother yells from the bottom of the stairs, "come help with dinner!" She jumps up and kisses my cheek.

"Come down in 10 minutes," she says as she leaves the room.

I sit thinking for a minute. Donna's high school career is exactly what I'd expect from what I know of her- really smart, really friendly and a really hardworker. On our honeymooon she told me that her parents didn't care that she'd dropped out of college, that they'd only been disappointed that she hadn't married Dr. Freeride. Based on what I've seen so far, I really doubt she's right about that. I think they probably were disappointed that she dropped out of college. I wonder if Donna herself is still disappointed about that. Ultimately, the question is whether or not Finn's right when he says that they are all really proud of her now. I also wonder if they all, including Donna, realize that even if she doesn't have a degree or children, Donna has already done amazing things and she's just getting started. She hasn't wasted her potential.


	18. Chapter 18

When I get downstairs, Mom is pulling two pans of lasagne out of the oven. Bella is starting to put fresh pasta into pots of boiling water and the kids are setting the table.

"Donna, please make the salad." My Mother says. I look around the kitchen for a minute.

"Good grief," Bella says. "I'll do it. You just watch the pasta."

I shrug and go stand by the stove. I could have done it. It's just cutting up romaine lettuce and mixing in the dressing, then adding the croutons and shredded Parmesean cheese. I just didn't know if she'd already pulled the ingredients out of the fridge.

When the timer goes off I fish a noodle out of the pan and taste it. Al dente. Perfect. I pull the inner pans out and balance them on the edge of the pots to drain them. Then I pour the pasta into big bowls and mix in the alfredo sauce. See I'm not completely helpless in the kitchen. Bella's watching me carefully to make sure I don't screw it up. Since my Mom is in the dining room putting the lasagne on the table, I stick my tongue out at Bella.

"I'm gonna tell." she says, laughing at me.

"GIRLS!" Dad's voice booms from the other room and both our eyes get wide. Then we both burst into laughter.

Bella wraps her arms around me. "I've missed you." She says.


	19. Chapter 19

We are all sitting around the table waiting for Bella and Donna to bring the rest of the food. They come out of the kitchen smiling. Donna looks happier than I've seen her all day. She puts the smaller bowl on the kids table, a card table with a tablecloth that is really more in the hallway than the dining room. Liam, Aiden, Carly and Anna are sitting there. Anna doesn't look too happy about it.

Once the food is on the table and Donna and Bella are seated, Donna's Dad says, "let's pray." They all bow their heads and repeat a prayer that I don't know. I look up and see Julie giving me a smile. She's not praying either. I'm relieved that it's a short prayer.

When the prayer is over, the kids get up and bring their plates over to get some lasagne and salad. Donna's mom points to one of the pans of lasagne.

"Josh, that one is meatless."

Does she think I'm a vegetarian? I'm confused. It must show because then she says-.

"The other one has sausage. I didn't know if you ate pork."

Oh. That's really very sweet. I don't follow Jewish dietary restrictions very closely at all, but I'd rather have the cheese only anyway.

"Thanks, Mom" I mumble the last part a bit awkwardly. It feels weird, but I noticed that's what Becky and Bob call her. Julie smiles at me again and I'm glad I made the effort.


	20. Chapter 20

"Josh and I will clean up!" I announce as soon as everyone starts getting up from the table.

"Get your things and let's go. I've still got things to do at home." Bella instructs her brood.

"See you at church tomorrow everybody."

Dad and Finn head into the den to watch football. Josh looks longingly after them. I don't know that he cares that much about football, but I'm sure he'd like to get out of dishes if he can.

"Help me first." I tell him.

Becky has convinced Julie to let Marco spend the night and Carly is over the moon. They head upstairs to pack a small bag for him. As Josh and I finish clearing the kids table, Sean tells Conor to fold it up and take it back to the basement.

Once everyone is out the door, Mom comes into the kitchen to check on us. There weren't really any leftovers to put away. Josh is doing a good job rinsing the dishes off and handing them to me to load into the dishwasher. Once its loaded my Mom shoos him out of the kitchen.

"Donna and I will do the pots and pans."

Josh looks relieved and smiles happily, but then kisses me softly on the cheek.

"Okay with you?" He asks. I nod and kiss him gently on the mouth. It was nice that he asked. He turns to Mom.

"Thanks, . . . . " He trails off awkwardly. He's still trying to figure out how to address her.

"You can call me Mom, if you want." She says and pats his cheek. She's not as old as his Mom but technically she is old enough. Well, she would've been 16.

"O.k., Thanks Mom." He says. Apparently, he's fine calling her Mom, he just didn't want to offend her. He leaves quickly to go watch the game, and I look longingly after him.

As I fill the sink with hot water and soap, I wonder how much of a lecture I'm about to get.


	21. Chapter 21

I don't really care much about football, but it's better than doing the dishes. I'm glad that I know what to call Donna's Mom now, but I'm still not sure about her Dad. He's mostly quiet, but he startled me when he yelled for Donna and Bella earlier. His loud voice is kind of intimidating. His back is to me as I enter the room. He's sitting in a La-Z-Boy chair watching the game on the TV that's in the far corner of the room. Finn is sitting on the couch that's against the far wall. He's at the end closest to his Dad's chair. Julie's laying on the same couch with her back propped against the arm rest and her feet in Finn's lap. She's got her back to the TV and she's reading a book. There's an empty chair next to Donna's Dad and another identical couch opposite the one Finn and Julie are on. The walls and carpet are a light beige and the furniture is all chocolate brown. It's really a comfortable, masculine space. Donna told me that it used to be her Dad's office, but her parents re-did it a few years ago. So now I'm facing a dilema. Do I take the chair next to Donna's Dad or do I sit on the couch across from Finn. I stand there a minute trying to decide when Donna's Dad finally says-

"Are you coming in or not?"

I walk in and he motions to the chair. I guess that makes that decision for me.

"How ya doin'?" I ask him, easing into the seat.

"About as good as can be expected for a man whose baby girl married a guy he'd only met once." Her Dad responds dryly. Well. I'm kind of sorry I asked.


	22. Chapter 22

I'm scrubbing one of the lasagne pans pretty vigorously just waiting for my Mom to start. I can feel her eyes on me but I'm avoiding eye contact. She's waiting for me to break down and confess to something. She used to use this tactic all the time when I was in high school. Finally, I can't take it anymore.

"Just say it Mom."

"What?"

"I don't know- What's was I thinking? Am I sure I know what I'm doing? Why'd we elope?"

"You forgot some."

"Oh yeah? What?"

"Are you happy?"

At this exact moment? Not particularly. Does she really care if I'm happy? For the last 12 years it seems like all she's done is question my decisions and doubt my choices. I don't answer her question and she goes on-

"Do you love him?"

"You know I do." Well, maybe she doesn't. She warned me repeatedly NOT to fall in love with my boss. And she told me for years that I should get over the "crush" I had on him.

"Does he love you?"

"Yes, Mom, he really does."

"Is he a good man?" We've never talked about it, but I think she knows that the last man I chose to live with was not.

"Yes."

"I'm starting to see that." She pauses a moment, then says

"You didn't answer my first question- are you happy?"

"Yes, Mama, I am very happy. My heart finally feels whole again."

"Well, then," she puts her hand on my shoulder, "what more could I want for you?"

I turn to face her and she opens her arms for a hug. I bury my face in her shoulder and fight back tears. It's been a really long time since I felt like I had her approval. She rubs my back for a minute then says

"Now, finish the dishes."


	23. Chapter 23

I look to Finn and Julie for help, while trying to formulate a response. I'm not usually at a loss for words, but then again, I don't usually care what people think about me. Suddenly, it clicks that Julie's trying to hide her smile behind her book, and Finn's about to laugh.

"Relax, Josh." Donna's Dad finally says, "we're good."

Well, I guess now I know where she gets her sense of humor.

"Your humor's kind of a high wire act, isn't it?" I ask him. He just shrugs in a way I've seen a million times.

"So, I, uh, don't need to apologize for not asking for your blessing or something?"

I'm not sorry that Donna and I eloped so I won't apologize for that, and frankly, I wouldn't have asked for permission, but if I can offer something to ease the tension between Donna and her parents, I'm totally willing to do it.

"Donna's always been the one to do whatever she wanted anyway. It's not like she would have wanted you to ask my permission. Besides, she's been singing your praises for years. It seems like we already know you." Then he looks pointedly at me. "Do you love her?"

"With all my heart."

"Okay, then, good enough for me." He turns back to the T.V. I guess this conversation is over.


	24. Chapter 24

Once I'm done with the dishes, I pour myself and Josh each a glass of wine and head toward the den to find him. When I get there I discover him wearing a cheesehead hat and rooting for the Packers.

"Daddy!" He grins sheepishly at me.

"I'd expect that from Sean- but not you. Josh, take the hat off you look ridiculous. My Dad is just jerking your chain. Here, I have some wine for you. Come join me on the couch?"

"Wine, in the den? You'd better not spill that." Daddy says. "And does your Mother know you're on your third glass?"

Josh pauses mid-sip and raises an eyebrow at me. Meanwhile, I'm blinking innocently at my father. When it's just me and him, I usually get my way. Just then my Mother pokes her head in the door.

"Busted!" Finn crows.

"DONNATELLA MOSS! Take that wine into the kitchen!" Then she turns her evil eye on Josh. He turns red immediately.

"Sorry, Mom. I didn't know." He says. On the way past her, he kisses her cheek. "But next time you yell at her- its 'Donnatella Moss Lyman,' okay?"

"You got me in trouble!" Josh angry whispers on our way to the kitchen.

"My Mother does love her rules." I respond.

"That explains so much." He mumbles.


	25. Chapter 25

We sit down at the little breakfast table in the kitchen to finish our wine and I take a minute to study Donna. She seems in better spirits than she was this morning. I think the day has gone pretty well. There are some family dynamics I don't completely get yet, but overall everyone has been pretty nice. Nothing that makes me want to grab Donna and run back to DC.

"How ya' doin'?" I ask her. She smiles at me.

"61 hours." Oh. She's still counting down? Maybe the day hasn't gone as well for her as I thought. I push back my chair and open my arms.

"C'mere." She smiles brighter, gets up and comes over and sits in my lap. I kiss her softly at first, then a little more insistently. I barely notice when the kitchen door opens.

Julie clears her voice loudly while getting a glass out of the cupboard. As she fills it with water she says-

"I came to see if you guys want to watch a movie with the rest of us, but if you'd rather make out in the kitchen, I'll try to cover for you." She stands there drinking the water. Pretty strict rules if the pregnant lady can't even have a glass of water in the den, I think to myself.

Donna gives me a passionate kiss, while Julie looks on in amusement. Then she stands up and say-

"Sure, we'll join you." As she's leaving the kitchen, she looks back over her shoulder at me and says-

"61 hours."

Oh. I hope that doesn't mean what I think it means.


	26. Chapter 26

After the movie we climb into bed. Josh immediately starts stroking my side.

"No."

"What?"

"No. No way Josh."

"Baby . . ."

"Josh- It's my parents' house."

"Their room is downstairs! Donna, we can be quiet."

"No. Josh. They'll _know_."

"Fine." He rolls over and faces the wall. I lay there looking at the ceiling, suddenly feeling very lonely. I feel tears pricking the back of my eyes. I try taking a deep breath. 58 hours, I think to myself.


	27. Chapter 27

I hear her draw a ragged breath. Damn. She's trying not to cry. I'm such a jerk. I roll back over and wrap my arm around her waist and pull her close.

"Josh . . ." she barely whispers "I said . . ."

I wipe the tears off her cheeks with my thumbs.

"Shhhh, I know. I'm sorry. It's okay. I just want to hold you."

She buries her face in my chest. She's quiet but I feel her shaking and my chest is damp now. I stroke her hair and rub her back until she falls asleep.

I don't really know exactly what's going on but if she's this upset maybe we should go home.


	28. Chapter 28

I wake up to smell of coffee and bacon. Josh isn't next to me. I feel like crying again. Why does being here make me feel so out of control?

"Hey there. You're awake." Josh says softly as he comes into the room. He takes one look at my face and rushes over to me.

"What's the matter?"

"I don't know."

He climbs back into bed and gathers me up in his arms. After he holds me for a few minutes I feel better. I take a deep breath and release it.

"Better?" Josh asks.

"Yeah."

"Want me to change our flight?"

"No."

"Okay. Breakfast?"

"Let's shower first."


	29. Chapter 29

After breakfast Donna's Mom asks to see the weeding photos. Donna looks pleased and runs upstairs to get them. I'm surprised that Donna didn't show them to her yesterday. She showed my Mom right away. Oh. Has she been waiting for her Mom to ask to see them? Maybe that's why she was upset.

Donna's Mom invites me to join them in the living room but I want to see what Donna wants me to do. I look down. Oh. I can't leave the dining room. I look up and smile at her.

"I'm not finished with my coffee yet."

Donna's Mom gives me a look that I don't quite understand. I think its the "I'm on to you, but technically you are behaving, so I'm going to let it go" look.

A few minutes later Donna comes back downstairs with the album. I whistle at her to get her attention.

"Did you just whistle for me?"

"Yeah."

"Like a dog?!"

"No. No. No. No- definitely not." Danger Will Robinson! "I just wondered if you wanted me to come in there with you or if you wanted some time alone with your Mom."

She smiles at me then comes over and kisses my cheek. Danger averted.

"Why don't you get your laptop and another cup of coffee."

"Okay."

"But Josh, if I whistle . . . ."

About 30 minutes later, Donna and her Mom come out of the living room. Her Mom heads down the hallway towards her room. Donna comes over to me and puts her arms around me.

"Well," she says "we'd better get ready for church."

"Church? I thought that was at 8pm? It's not even 9am yet."

"That's the Christmas Eve Candlelight service, Josh. Today is Sunday. Regular church starts at 10."

"You want to go to church twice today?"

" _Josh_ " she practically hisses at me. "It's not like I _want_ to go. My parents _expect_ us to go."

"Are Finn and Julie going?"

"Of course. The whole family will be there. Sean and Becky will be bringing Marco with them."

"I have an idea. Let's NOT go. We'll have the house to ourselves." I wiggle my eyebrows. "I'm sure we can find something to do."

Donna looks at me incredulously.

"Let me get this straight. Your idea is that we skip church so that we can stay here and have sex?"


	30. Chapter 30

It's not that it's not an appealing idea. I'd really much rather make love with Josh than attend church. In fact, making love with Josh is the closest I've come to finding religion since I was sixteen. The question is whether we can pull it off without suffering too much damage to the fragile peace we've established. My parents will be pissed.

I start thinking stratgey. What excuse would we use? Illness? I'd actually have to vomit, repeatedly, in front of my parents for that to work. I used up my allottment of "sick days" by the time I was fifteen.

Do we use Josh's faith as a reason? Of course my parents know that he's Jewish. I don't really think they really care as long as it doesn't personally affect them. Us not standing in the family row, dressed in our best and smiling nicely, affects them.

Work? It's my standard go to when I want to get out of something with my family. It's part of the reason why my parents were not that fond of Josh. They think its his fault I missed so many family events over the years. Add to that his political persuasion, the age difference and the fact that he was my boss, it isn't really surprising that my Mother was convinced that he was just using me for sex. My track record in that department isn't that great. Josh made really good progress with them yesterday and I think seeing the photos and hearing about why we eloped probably convinced my Mom that he loves me- although I'm not entirely sure she's convinced that I'm not pregnant.

"Alright." I tell him. "Here's what we are going to do. We are going upstairs and getting dressed for church. While we are getting ready, you're going to call Sam and tell him to call you back in 20 minutes. Make sure you are near my parents when the phone rings. You've got to act like its something REALLY important that you can't talk about in front of them. We'll tell them you need me to stay in case we need to call the first family. We'll send my parents on to church and tell them we'll catch up with them as soon as we can."


	31. Chapter 31

Donna's parents did not look happy when they left. Finn shot me a wink once they were out the door. If he's on to us, I wonder if her parents are too. Oh well. I was not going to make it another 50 hours. It really never occurred to me that we wouldn't be making love when I insisted on 72 hours with her family. I mean- we made love several times at my Mom's condo. Being sexually frustrated wasn't going to help in the trying to get along with her parents quest, so in the long run it'll be worth any ground we've lost by skipping church this morning.

Donna comes back upstairs with two beers. She's really into breaking the rules.

"Josh, were going out to lunch."

"Okay."

"My parents are meeting us there."

"Okay."

"And also Uncle Ted and Aunt Barbara."

" _Donnnna_. . ."

"You've met them before."

"I remember."

"You said they were perfectly nice people."

"They're Republicans."

"Josh?"

"Yeah."

"You do know that my parents are Republicans, right?"

"No. I sort of suspected , but you've never actually admitted it before. You know," I tell her "when you were trying to talk me into making this a shorter trip might have been a good time to bring it up." (That and the fact that she was planning on withholding sex for the duration.)

"Donna?"

"Yeah?"

"You're a democrat, right?" I tease her.

"Well, Josh, I've been meaning to tell you . . . ." I'm happy to have the sass back.

"So naughty!" I say, starting to tickle her, we still have enough time for round two.

"At least I'm starting to understand why you rebelled."


	32. Chapter 32

I stretch and smile. Yeah. This was a good idea. I'm feeling a lot better. This is how Sunday morning should be spent- in bed with the one you love. I glance down at Josh's wrist and take note of the time.

OH CRAP! I jump out of bed.

"GET UP!" Shit.

"Get your clothes on!" I rush into the bathroom to clean up a bit. When I come back into the bedroom, Josh is putting his jeans on.

"What are you doing?!"

"You just told me to get dressed."

"PUT. YOUR. SUIT. BACK. ON!" I make every word crystal clear.

"I have to wear a suit to Applebee's?"

"We have to show up for lunch wearing the same clothes we had on when the left or they'll _know_." I explain. He's really not very good a being sneaky. I'm not entirely conviced that they won't know anyway, but let's not give them any clues.

Oh god. This was a mistake. I feel my heartrate going up. My head is pounding and my stomach hurts.

Suddenly Josh is standing right in front of me. He's holding my face gently in his hands.

"Hey. Hey. Breathe slowly. You're okay." He kisses my forehead lightly. "I love you. We didn't do anything wrong." He kisses my lips gently. I take a deep breath. He wraps his arms around me. "There." He says. "That's better." He continues- "Now, we are going to get dressed in our Sunday best and we're going to have lunch with your parents. Everything is going to be fine."


	33. Chapter 33

As we pull into Applebee's I look over at Donna. She's looking a lot better but these mood swings are making me nervous. She looks back at me and smiles brightly. If I hadn't been there, I would't even know that 20 minutes ago she was practically having a panic attack.

Donna's parents and her Aunt and Uncle are seated at a table in a corner of the restaurant. Donna's Dad and Uncle Ted stand up as we walk up to the table. I shake Ted's hand.  
"Ted, it's good to see you again. Barbara, you look well."

I pull out Donna's chair so she can sit down and notice Ted and Donna's Dad exchange an approving look. Old school manners score points with these guys.

Donna picks up a menu and takes a look. I already know what she's going to get- a large salad, which she will encourage me to share with her because she doesn't really approve of what I'm going to order- a very well done burger and double fries so that she can have half. Even though we've only been married a month we've been sharing our food for over 9 years. It's very comforting to know that either of us could order for the other at almost any restaurant across the country.

As the food arrives, Uncle Ted and Donna's Dad continue their conversation about how sales are going with the Dairy Consortium. I have to repress the "Big Block of Cheese" joke that I am dying to make. Instead, I take another big bite of my burger and hand Donna another french fry.

Donna, her Mom and Aunt Barbara are talking about what we did each day on our honeymoon. Well, I mean they are talking about the sightseeing we did on each day.

"Let's see," Donna says, "Sunday we spent the whole day on the beach. Don't worry Mom, I was very careful with the sunscreen. And then we went to a Luau."

"You know, Donna, we missed you in church _today._ " Aunt Barbara says. What a weird thing to say. Is that because we didn't go to church on our honeymoon?

Donna's mom gives her the evil eye and Donna lowers her head, and looks at her plate, her cheeks turning red.

"Well it couldn't be avoided," I tell Barbara. "I had an important call with my deputy and I _really_ needed Donna." Technically, everything I just said is true, but Donna turns even more red because she knows the real meaning behind my words.

This time her Dad gives me the evil eye. Perhaps sensing the tension, Uncle Ted tries to be polite-

"Oh well, yes, I suppose congratulations are in order. You must be very pleased. Of course, you know, we voted for Vinick."

No. I didn't know that. And I can't keep the surprise out of my voice.

"You voted for Vinick?"

"Yes, of course." Donna's Dad says. I turn to look at him, incredulous.

"You voted for Vinick, Jim?" My voice raises a little and Donna lays a hand gently on my arm. I lower my voice but harshly say-

" _Your daughter_ was the spokesperson for Matthew Santos. She believed in him and was spending 20 hours a day working her ass off to get him elected and you voted for the _other_ guy?!"

I look him right in the eye and don't break eye contact until he looks away. Then I look at the others and softly say:

"Wow. And here I thought that family was important to you people."

I'm not really hungry anymore and I don't want to sit here and try to make small talk. I look at Donna and she nods slightly. I pull out my wallet and drop enough money on the table to cover the check. Donna and I stand up at the same time.

"Jim, Lottie-" I won't be calling them Dad and Mom any time soon. "We'll see you back at the house. Ted, Barbara, perhaps we'll see you at the Service tonight. Have a nice afternoon."

I take Donna's arm and we walk outside. When we get to the car, I turn to Donna.

"I'm sorry I lost my temper in there. I probably just made things a lot worse."

"Josh," Donna interupts my apology. "Thank you. No one has ever stood up for me like that."


	34. Chapter 34

We get back to the house and find Marco asleep in our room. Finn and Julie's door is closed but I hear slight moaning from inside. I turn around and motion Josh back down the stairs putting a finger over my lips to tell him to be quiet. At first we head to the den, Josh sits down and scrubs the top of his head with his hands. Then he stands up and stalks down the hall toward the living room. I follow him, but he doesn't sit down. Instead he turns and walks back into the dining room and pulls out a chair.

"I'll get you some water." I tell him. I can tell he doesn't want to be in this house right now. I'm not sure if I should ask him if he's decided that he's had enough. If he tells me that he has we'll go home. I definitely won't push him to stay. On the other hand, I would kind of like to hear the kids sing tonight and see them open their presents tomorrow.

"Josh-" I say tentatively, handing him the glass of water, "I have an idea."  
"Yeah?"

"When Finn and Julie finish up in there- let's ask them if they want to go out to dinner tonight. I bet my parents would watch Marco. We can get out of here for awhile, get some drinks, get dinner, then meet the family at the Church just before 8. That will give us all time to cool off. What do you think?"

"I like Finn and Julie."

"Me too."

"Right now I don't like your parents very much."

"I know the feeling."

"Do you want to go home?" I wasn't going to ask him, but I changed my mind. I don't want him to ever feel like I would choose my family over him.

"Do you?"

"Yes and no." I answer honestly. "I'd rather be home right now. But I'd really like to hear the kids sing in the choir tonight. I don't want to disappoint them. And I would like to spend some more time with Finn and Julie, and the kids, and maybe Bella and Sean. They'll all be here tomorrow. Can we play it by ear? Stay for now and just see how it goes?"

"Okay. But Donna, I'm not going to suck up to them. They need to start treating you with respect. You deserve it."

Okay. Back to my original plan, where I don't make any waves so that there is less chance for fighting with my parents. It seems like a bad time to tell Josh about the Christmas pajamas.


	35. Chapter 35

I open my laptop and start reading emails. I might as well get some work done. We've made a lot of progress the last month but there are still positions to be filled. Margaret is also "cc-ing" me on a lot of CJ's email just to keep me in the loop. I'm really glad Margaret is staying on. I'd been absolutely dreading trying to find an assistant. Once again, Donna knew just what I needed.

About 15 minutes later Finn comes downstairs. He seems surprised to see me.

"I thought you were having lunch with the folks." He says.

"We were. It didn't go well."

"Oh."

Donna pokes her head out of the living when she hears Finn's voice.

"Hey is Julie awake?"

"Yeah, she's just checking on Marco."

"Do you guys want to go out with us? We need to get out of here for a while. Once Mom and Daddy get home we could ask them to watch Marco then we could all go somewhere and get a drink and some food?"

"Yeah, that sounds fine. Let me just check with Julie. She can't drink and I don't want to keep her out all day. She gets tired pretty easily."

Finn heads back up the stairs to talk to his wife. I really like Donna's brother. I appreciate his honesty- he'd like to come out with us but his wife's needs come first. That's the way it should be. I'd really like to hear more about what he thinks about the Santos Education Plan. He could give me some insight about what real world teachers face and what they think about the ideas. It's a lot different than hearing from a union or a lobby.

About an hour later, the front door opens and Donna's parents come in. Her Dad stops and looks at me for a minute like he wants to say something, but then heads down the hall to his den. I've said what I needed to say. If he wants to talk about it anymore he's going to have to bring it up. Donna's Mom didn't say anything or even slow down. She just headed straight back to her bedroom. Donna is still in the living room, so I'm in a good spot to keep an eye on things. If either of her parents head in there, I'll be joining them. Finn and Julie didn't come back downstairs after our conversation, so I guess Marco is still napping and they are making the best use of their time to themselves.

About 10 more minutes go by and I hear someone in the kitchen, then the door opens and Lottie walks in with a plate of cookies. She sets them down in front of me. I can only guess this is a peace offering. Man, she still doesn't get it. She doesn't owe _me_ an apology. She owes Donna one. They didn't owe me anything when they voted for Vinick- I don't like it or particularly understand it, but they didn't betray me by voting for him. But it infuriates me that they think so little of Donna's intelligence, judgment, or character, that they would vote against the guy _she_ had worked so hard for.

Lottie turns and walks out. Well. I guess neither of us is getting an apology anyway. I'm starting to see what Donna was talking about- her parents work on being civil because appearances matter, but it's hard to know where you really stand with them. I had assumed that it was Dr. Freeride that destroyed Donna's confidence but maybe it started before then.


	36. Chapter 36

I'm sitting in the living room half reading a book. My mind isn't really on it. I heard my parents come home but they didn't say anything to Josh, so I just stayed here, letting him work. I hear someone come down the stairs. I assume its Finn or Julie. Then I hear-

"Uncle Josh! Cookie!"

At that I get up and go out into the hallway, Marco has climbed up onto Josh's lap. Josh closes the laptop and pushes it out of reach, then hands him a cookie. They look really sweet together.

"Oh!" Josh says. "I probably should have asked if it was okay first." He looks at Finn and Julie apologetically.

"It's okay." Julie says. "One cookie isn't going to hurt him." Then she says-

"So Finn said you guy want to go out? Let me just check with Lottie and see if she'll watch him."

A few minutes later, Julie come back from the kitchen.

"She'll watch him. We just need to be back here by 7 so that I can get him ready and we can all head over to the church together."

Finn and Julie are in jeans and sweaters, but I'm still in my dress from earlier and Josh is still wearing his suit, although the jacket is hanging over the back of the chair and he's loosened his tie. Either they need to dress up or we need to dress down. Since we aren't going straight over to the church- I'd like to put on jeans and a sweater.

"That sounds good. Josh & I will run upstairs and put on something more comfortable since we'll have time to change back into this before the Service starts."

Josh stands up still holding Marco, and Finn reaches for him.

"Come on little man, let's go see what Grandma's doing in the kitchen."


	37. Chapter 37

When we come back downstairs, Donna's Parents, and Finn and Julie are all in the living room. It's practically a Norman Rockwell scene. Jim's reading a newspaper. Finn and Julie are sitting properly on a loveseat, and Lottie is in an arm chair reading a book to Marco. The Christmas Tree is blinking in the corner. There are stockings hanging over the fireplace. For the first time, I realize that one of them actually has my name embrodiered on it. It looks cozy, but with the mood I'm in right now "artifical" is what comes to mind.

Donna and I step into the room and look at Finn and Julie.

"Ready?"

Jim puts the newspaper down. Then he says in a cold voice-

"Finn. Donna. Do not be late. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Daddy."

"Yes, sir."

Geez, what are they teenagers? I look at Julie. She doesn't look pleased, but not nearly as irriated as I feel. I can tell you that if we had a kid right now I wouldn't be leaving it with these people. Julie seems like a good mother and she has known the Mosses a lot longer than I have so I guess its not my place to question it. But still, I hope Marco will be okay with them.

I turn and stalk out the door. I'm really not in the mood to try to play nice.

Finn and Julie have a cross-over vehicle. It's not as big as Sean's SUV but its still pretty roomy. There is room for Donna and I in the back seat, even with Marco's car seat.

"Where are we going?" Finn asks Donna.

"World of Beer? It's a new place. Have you tried it yet?"

"No, but Sean was telling me about it. It has a lot of choices of craft beer and the food's really good."

World of Beer? That perks me up.


	38. Chapter 38

Josh seems a lot more relaxed by the time we get to World of Beer. Julie did a great job making small talk in the car. I think she's probably the best person to help Josh navigate through the tribulation of being a Moss in-law. As we walk in, I'm pleasantly surprised by the live music. I didn't expect that on Christmas eve. Sometimes I have to remind myself that this isn't a religious holiday for everyone. Even after all this time, I sometimes fall back into the mindset that came with being trained that there is only one right way to do things.

We sit far enough away that we can hear the guy singing Christmas carols, but we don't have to try to talk over him. The waitress comes over to take our order and we tell her we need a few minutes. There really are lots of beer choices. It's almost 4 o'clock. It's a weird time to order food, but Josh and I didn't finish lunch and I'd like him to have something in him before he starts drinking. His system isn't quite as sensitive as I tease him about, but he really can't get wasted before church tonight- no matter how much he'd like to.

"Should we try again on the burger and fries?"

"Yes, are you ordering a salad for us to share?"

"Of course." I smile at him and he genuinely smiles back. No matter what happens with my family, we have each other and we have already created our own dynamic.

I look at Finn and Julie. "Are you guys ordering food now?"

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea."

I wave the waitress back over and we place our orders.

Josh and Finn both order Flights so they can try several of the craft beers. It's funny Josh doesn't like new food but he's more than willing to try new beer. I'm sort of torn. Sam Adams is my go-to but that's sort of boring. I'm sure I'll end up trying Josh's but I'd like a bottle of my own to start. Julie orders a ginger ale. I feel kind of bad for her. But she said it would be fine. I'm still looking over the beer list. UGH. I can't decide. Everyone is waiting.

"Donna?" Josh says. I'm not usually this indecisive.

"Sam Adams." I finally say. I can always order something else later.

"Oh, and bring some chips or something with the first round." I tell the waitress. I look at Josh. "I want you to have something in your stomach before you start."

"I had a cookie earlier." He says.

"Ah." Julie says "the famous Lottie- let's forget anything happened- and pretend everything is fine- plate of cookies."

Finn and I sort of grimace at her tone.

"So I didn't mis-read that." Josh says.

"Nope. Whatever happened at lunch- they aren't going to bring it up unless you do."

"Well, I don't know what else there is to say about that. I didn't know they voted for Vinick."

"Really?" Finn asks, "you're surprised?" Finn turns to me "Donna, are you surprised?"

"No." I answer honestly. Josh sighs and rolls his neck.

"I'm not really surprised they are Republicans. I guess I'm just surprised that they wouldn't support Donna. I mean, she was the Santos Spokesperson- one of the faces of the campaign. Isn't it like voting against her? I don't understand how they could do that."

Finn and I look at each other. Neither of us have an answer for Josh. It's just the way it is. Josh looks at Julie.

"I think the Mosses _are_ proud of their kids, mostly. They want to brag about what their kids have accomplished. They bragged about Donna working in the White House, even though it was for a Democrat. That call to Mrs. Morelli- it's still a story they like to tell to their friends. But they'd never consider letting their kids influence them. The kids are supposed to be a reflection of the parents, not the other way around. You know, its funny but they probably brag less about Sean and Bella because they are living the same lives as their parents. They are just meeting expectations. Not exceeding them."

"You seem to handle this pretty well." He says to Julie.

"We never stay more than three days." I shoot Josh an I-told-you-so look, while Julie continues. "We don't discuss politics or religion and we pretty much just go with the flow."

"So me being a Jewish, Democratic Political Operative is really endearing to them, huh?" We all laugh a little, but I lean over to Josh and kiss him soundly on the mouth.

"Screw 'em! It's endearing to me."


	39. Chapter 39

We had a great time with Finn and Julie. I really do like them. Finn is a quieter, male version of Donna. He's really smart. He and Julie we're honest about how they had voted for Russell in the primary. Not only were they supporting him because of Donna, they weren't really sure about Santos' Education Plan. They shared their concerns in a way that totally made sense. They explained that most teachers don't oppose the idea of extending the school year because they want the summers off. In fact, most teachers have jobs during the summer- many of them tutoring. Their concern is burn-out for both kids and teachers. Really, looking into year round school, with some extended breaks is something most teachers are willing to consider. The thing about "teacher tenure" that worries them is that talking about tying teacher salary to performance doesn't take into account that there are a lot of factors that go into test scores and they don't all rest on the teachers' heads. It was a really productive conversation. We all agree that there is a lot of room for improvement in our country. I will definitely be calling them again as resources as we start moving forward on Education Reform.

As we pull into the driveway of her parents' condo, Donna squeezes my hand. I smile at her. I can handle the rest of the weekend. I will definitely follow Julie's advice. No religion or politics and just go with the flow. I'm really not sure how this Candlelight Service is going to fit into the no religion part of it. But I guess as long as I can just keep quiet and stand there we could be okay.

"You know I'd rather rip these clothes back off you and stay here, right?" Donna whispers softly as she's adjusting my tie.  
"Not really helping with the mindset, here, you know." I respond. She smiles wickedly at me.

"So, what should I expect tonight?" I ask.

"Well, this will last about an hour. They'll give you a candle as you walk in. DON'T pick at it," she says "if you do you'll end up with a pile of wax and a sore bottom." She laughs and pats my backside as she says it.

"Found that out the hard way, did you?" I ask with a chuckle.

"Took me more than once to learn it." She says with a half grimace, half smile. I'm starting to figure out that her parents were really strict with them. I just don't know how much to joke about it and how much to be kind of angry on her behalf. I mean, it's a parenting style. Not one that I particularly agree with, but still.

I take her face in my hands and kiss her softy.

"We're not going to spank our kids, right?" I say. She sighs in relief.

"Right."

"So after I get the candle, what's next?"

"We'll all go sit quietly in our row. When it starts, we'll stand up and sing a song. Then we'll say a prayer. Then we'll sit down. Then the choir will sing a couple songs. The pastor will say something about Baby Jesus- probably just the Christmas story. We'll stand again and sing "Silent Night." While we are singing, they'll light the candles in the front row and people will turn and light other people's candles until the whole place is glowing."

It sounds pretty.

"Whatever you do, don't set anything on fire!" She laughs.

"Do you have another story for me?"

"No" she says- "you'll have to ask Sean about that one."


	40. Chapter 40

Shortly after "Silent Night" ends, the Pastor says "Have a Merry Christmas. You're dismissed." The house lights come up and everyone blows their candle out. Josh looks at me and grins, then shows me his candle.

"Good boy." I whisper in his ear. "I guess you get a present tonight."

He looks really excited. He's going to be a lot less thrilled when he figures out I'm talking about Christmas pajamas.

When we get to the lobby, my parents introduce him to their friends. He's back to being a politican, greeting everyone warmly, agreeing that the service was lovely and the children all sang beautifully. He's probably being sincere when he says tells the Pastor "it was the best Christmas eve service I've ever been to."

After a few minutes, the kids join us in the lobby.

"Uncle Josh! Did you hear me?" Carly asks him. She's a touch infatuated. I can totally relate.

"Yes. You have a beautiful voice." He tells her kindly.

Liam and Aiden are trying to sneak some candy canes off the tree. They're not very stealthy.

"Boys." Bella's single word warning sounds exactly like my Mother's.

"Give Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Josh and Aunt Donna, and Uncle Finn and Aunt Julie hugs. We'll see them tomorrow." As I give the boys hugs, I slip them each a roll of livesavers that I hid in my purse. I could teach them a thing or two about stealth.

"Okay, we'll see you at noon." My Mom says to Becky and Bella. "Don't forget to email the pajama picture to me."

Bella looks wickedly at Josh. "Can't wait to see yours." She says. Josh looks confused. I glare at Bella.

"Ah. You haven't told him." She says. I continue to glare. She's doing this on purpose. Josh looks between us. He realizes that something is going on but he's committed to keeping the peace if possible so he doesn't say anything.

"Donna." My Dad says, sharply. Of course. He doesn't even realize that Bella started it. He only sees that I'm glaring at her. I smile brightly at him and blink innocently. Sean steps between us and gives me a hug, then shakes Josh's hand. "See you tomorrow, man."

Marco is asleep on Finn's shoulder so Julie gives me the high sign. If we want to ride with them instead of my parents we'd better go now. Yes, please. Once we are in the car, Josh looks at me and raises his eyebrows. I know that look. It's the "are you going to tell me what's going on?" look. I decide not to come right out and say it. Instead, I ask Julie-

"Did you bring pajamas for the family picture?" I sneak a side glance at Josh, whose brow is furrowed. He's a smart guy. He'll figure it out. I look up and see that Finn's watching him in the rearview mirror, trying not to laugh.

"Yes, of course." Julie says.

"Why the hell would we get pictures in our pajamas?" Josh says "I don't even usually wear pajamas."

Finn finally bursts out laughing.

"Go with the flow, Josh." Julie says. "But here's a tip. You can always wait to put them on until the morning."


	41. Chapter 41

It's only a few minutes after 10pm but we are heading up to bed. We never actually go to bed this early, but our other choice is staying downstairs with Donna's parents. Julie and Finn have the kid as an excuse. We gotta get ourselves one of those. Normally, if we were heading to the bedroom at this time of night, I'd be pretty excited about it. But since I discovered that my "present" for being good in church is pajamas, I'm not nearly as happy.

Speaking of which, once we close the door, I give Donna a look.

"So," I say "It seems like you have something to tell me?"

"Remember Julie's advice about going with the flow?"

"Yeah."

"Well, every year we'd go to the midnight service, then we'd come home and get to open one present. It was always matching Christmas pajamas. That way Mom would have cute pictures of us opening presents on Christmas day. She'd take a group picture of all us kids and Dad would use it for the Christmas card for the insurance agency the next year."

It's like a Stepford family. I think to myself.

"So my Mom decided to continue the tradition even after Sean and Bella got married and moved out. They still do the pajama thing with their families and they just email my Mom the picture for the insurance card. When I was single my Mom still got me pajamas to match her and my Dad if I was home for Christmas. But since we are married, I got to pick out ours. Well, as long as I kept them in the theme."

"There's a _theme_?"

"Yes. This year's was red plaid."

"Donna, did you think I was going to give you a hard time about this?"

"Well. . . "

"I love you. I'll wear matching pajamas if you want me to."

"Thanks, honey."

"So can I see them?"

She pulls them out of her suitcase then lays them on the bed, and steps to the side. I take one look and burst out laughing. They are red plaid pajama bottoms with solid red tops. The smaller one says "Naughty" and the larger one says "Nice."

"So, Donna, we're you trying to send a message to your parents with these pajamas?"

She's still snickering. "I just thought they were cute, but they do seem appropriate."  
"Well I'm not sure your parents would agree with the nice part anymore."

"Well, you've been calling me naughty all weekend. And I still think you're nice."

I pull her into my arms and whisper in her ear- "You are definitely the naughty one. But I like you just the way you are."


	42. Chapter 42

Our pajamas are folded, waiting on top the desk for morning. Josh and I are naked, in bed snuggling. I decided to give him a better present after all. He's much better at being quiet then I am.

"Are you sure I can't reciprocate? " He asks again.

"Less than 36 hours to go. You can reciprocate when we get home."

"So," Josh says, rubbing my arm, "Let me see if I got this right. To celebrate Christmas, when you were small, like even Marco's age, your parents dressed you up in fancy clothes, kept you up past your bedtime, took you to church, punished you if you didn't behave perfectly, and the present you got to open was always pajamas?"

When he puts it like that it sounds really bad.

"Well, yeah."

"How would you feel about converting?"

"Is that a joke or are we going to have a serious conversation about it?"

"Well, I was mostly joking. You know I don't really practice my faith. On the other hand, I'd like our children to know their Jewish hertiage. I did attend Hebrew school and all."

"I don't really go to church either. I only attend when I'm with my parents. But I do believe in Jesus. My faith is more about trying to show God's love instead of follow a bunch of rules. I'm not sure how I'd feel about converting. Do you need me to convert for the kids to be Jewish?"

"I don't think so. We might have to ask Toby or my Mother. I'm not a very good Jew."

"I don't know about that. But I do know you are a good person. You have a huge capacity for love, you are loyal and you are helpful. You are also kind and funny. I'm really glad you are going to be the father of my children."

He leans over and kisses me gently.

"Thank you. I'm glad you are going to be their Mother. You amaze me every day. "

"So do we need to figure out how to celebrate religious holidays, right now?" I ask him, "or is it enough to agree that we will teach our kids about both faiths and encourage them to make their own determinations about God?"

"It can wait. I have an idea about how to celebrate that I'd like to try right now." He says then he covers my mouth with his and his hand slides down my stomach.


	43. Chapter 43

In the morning, we wake up and put our pajamas on. We start giggling at each other. This is a strange family.

We come down the stairs holding hands and Donna's mother immediately snaps a photo. I rub my eye with my finger. It's going to be a long day. Still, I smile at her and say "Good morning."

"Merry Christmas Josh! Merry Christmas Donna!" Her Mother sings at us. Apparently, she really doesn't hold grudges. We walk into the kitchen and I'm happy to see a large pot of coffee along with an assortment of muffins and bagels. There's also some sort of sticky looking thing that kind of looks like dinner rolls dipped in caramel. Donna, of course, takes a bowl of fruit.

We take our breakfast into the dining room and find her Dad drinking coffee and reading the paper. Sure enough, he's wearing a red plaid two piece pair of pajamas that matches his wife's flannel nightgown. I really do have to bite back a snicker. He notices my amusement and just says-

"The things we do for our wives."

I look down at myself and nod in agreement. I'm really in no position to be making judgments. I can only pray that the photos never get leaked. Then I remember, Donna said something about this going on a Christmas card? I really have to find a way to stop that from happening.

Finn, Julie and Marco come down the stairs a few minutes later. Their pajama pants are the same red plaid as ours but they have white shirts with their names on them. Julie's also has the word baby and an arrow pointing to her stomach. Just in case anyone forgot, I guess. Donna's Mom hurries them over to the fireplace for a family photo right away.

After the photo, Finn goes into the kitchen to get some food, while Julie puts Marco in his booster seat and takes his shirt off. She looks at my expression then explains-

"He's a messy eater and it's a white shirt."

Ah. I need to start paying attention to these things. Breakfast with Marco lasts about 15 minutes. It's not that he's anxious for Christmas to start, in fact, I'd say he doesn't really know what's going on. He just doesn't really like to sit still for much longer than that. Little people are a lot of work. But I look across the table at Donna and think, yeah, we really do need to get one- maybe even two.

Once Marco is cleaned up and has his shirt back on, Donna's Mom announces that we can open stockings. We all gather in the living room and she hands each of us a stocking.

I lean over to Donna and whisper,

"Where are the ones for the others?

Donna whispers back:

"You only get a stocking at the house you stay at. They'll get theirs at their houses."

So many rules! And what does this have to do with Baby Jesus? I don't know.

Every watches as Marco opens his. It's got some cars, a ball and a small stuffed dog, along with an orange and some peppermint sticks. Julie immediately takes the candy, along with the ball and the orange.

"He likes to throw things," Finn explains.

My stocking has a very large orange, some peppermint sticks, wool socks and a knit hat with a large fuzzy ball on the top. I'm not really sure who to thank. Donna's, Julie's and Finn's are basically the same. I do take a minute to look at the stocking itself. It looks just like the rest. It's velvet, red and green plaid with a white cuff that has "Joshua" sewn across it. This may be a strange family, but they've accepted me into it. I guess I should be grateful for that.


	44. Chapter 44

Once we submitted to the family photo in front of the fireplace, Mom let us go back upstairs to change. As soon as we got back into the room, Josh closed the door and put his hands under my shirt.

"Seeing you in that shirt makes me want to do wicked things with you."

"Well you know what happens to naughty girls?" I press my body completely against him, put my mouth right by his ear, and say in my sexiest voice- "they get spanked."

He groans:"You have got to stop teasing me like this."

We make out for a few more minutes, but he's right we don't really have time to have any fun.

"24 hours."

Well, its time for his last surprise. I kiss him one more time.

"You know I love you right?" My tone of voice tips him off.

"Why does that sound like a prelude to something unpleasant?" He asks.

I giggle, a bit nervously, handing him his jeans and a plain white t-shirt. While he's putting them on, I put on my jeans and a cami.

"Hey, babe, can you hand me my sweater?" He asks while he finishes zipping up his jeans.

I reach into my suitcase and pull out his new sweater. He puts it on without even looking at it. Well. This could be easier than I expected. I smile happily at him and then turn around a grab my own sweater. I pull it on then move in front of the mirror to brush my hair. Josh comes around behind me and wraps his arms around me, kissing my neck. Eventually he looks up, our eyes meeting in the mirror. He grins at me, but then realization comes over his face and the grin fades.

"Donnatella Moss Lyman- Why are we wearing matching sweaters?"


	45. Chapter 45

My wife is something else. I have no idea how she did that. We are standing here in matching sweaters. I'm not sure whether to be in awe or frightened.

She pouts a little. "Don't we look adorable?"

"Well, yes, we do." My sweater is navy, with a band of some sort of snowflake print across the chest and arms. Hers is the reverse, cream with the same print in navy. I guess they don't exactly match but they are coordinating. How the hell did I end up in a coordinating sweater?

"Is this another Moss family rule?" I ask. I don't know how many more of these I can take.

"Not exactly." What? If we aren't doing this to please her parents why on earth would she do this? Does _she_ want to wear matching clothes. Oh god. I never expected that.

"Donna. Can you please explain what the hell is happpening here?" I ask a bit snappishly.

"Nothing." She snaps back. "Wear whatever the hell you want." She walks out of the room and I hear the bathroom door close loudly.

I walk over to the chair and sit at the desk, waiting for her to come out of the bathroom. I look down at the sweater. It's really not that bad. I usually just get solids but I can live with this. It's just the matching thing. It's really not something I ever pictured myself doing. I really didn't see Donna as the type to do it either. Still, I shouldn't have snapped at her. This weekend has been stressful enough for both of us. And geez, if I was going to flip out about something, it should have been the pajamas. I'm such a jerk. And why is she still in the bathroom? I tiptoe into the hallway and pause by the bathroom door. I hear muffled crying coming from inside. Well, Lyman, you really know how to make it a merry Christmas. I tap lightly on the door.

"Donna, are you okay? I'm sorry. Please come out and talk to me." I'm speaking softly because I don't really want the rest of the family to know we are fighting. It's our first fight and I can't believe its over a stupid sweater. I feel horrible. I wait a few minutes then go back into our room. I sit facing the door so I can see if she leaves the bathroom and goes downstairs.

Another minute goes by and she comes back into the room. She's even more pale than usual and her eyes are red-rimmed. I am a complete failure. I made my wife cry on Christmas. I hold my arms open and hope she'll still come to me.

Thank god she comes over and sits on my lap. I wrap my arms around her. She puts her head on my shoulder. Just as I'm about to apologize she says-

"Well, we're not having a baby." Man, she must be really mad at me.

"I'm sorry. I totally over-reacted. I just didn't expect you to be into the cutesy clothes thing. I can get on board."

She pulls back and looks at me strangely.

"Josh, I don't really care about the damn sweater. I meant I'm not pregnant. I just started my period."

"Oh." This sheds a little bit of light on this weekend's mood swings. I rub her back comfortingly. We aren't really trying to get pregnant yet, but we aren't doing anything to prevent it either. I don't think either of us expected that she'd get pregnant the first month. And in a way its nice to have at least a couple month buffer from the elopement, to put any rumors to rest. But still, I find myself a little disappointed. And from the sniffling, I'd say that Donna's disappointed too.

"How are you feeling?" I'm getting much better at asking questions instead of assuming.

"I have cramps. And I'm a little disappointed, which kind of surprises me. I didn't know that I wanted to be pregnant. Actually, I'm not sure that I do want to be pregnant yet."

"You know what? I think I understand. Being around Marco and Julie and Finn. I've got some mixed feelings too. Starting a family seems overwhelming, but also something I really want. If you get pregnant soon, I think I'll be really excited. But if it takes a little while its okay. I'm happy being with you."

She gives me a watery smile. I love her so much.


	46. Chapter 46

"How can I help?" Josh asks me as he stands up with me still in his arms and then lays me on the bed. Wow. He hasn't picked me up like that since the honeymoon. He's a lot stronger than he looks, but it's really not that good for his back. I should probably discourage him from doing anything like that but you know what, I really liked the feeling. I may be a feminist, but its nice to feel like your man can take care of you.

Another cramp hits and I roll over onto my side and curl up. Josh goes back to rubbing my back. I'm feeling kind of stupid. I should have known this was coming. I took some Midol. I really need the drugs to kick in. This whole thing is kind of awkward. We've been really good friends for so long but obviously, my menstrual cycle is not anything we've ever discussed. It's not that I get bitchy. It's just that my tolerance to deal with stupidity is greatly reduced. The handful of serious arguments we've had over the years probably all fall within a day or two of the start of my cycle. I think about Wheateena and giggle.

"Something funny?"

"Wheateena and matching sweaters." He pauses for a minute. And I turn and look up at him. The wheels are really turning. Poor guy.

"Keep rubbing my back like that." It really does feel heavenly. I've never had a boyfriend do this before. After Dr. Freeride, none of the relationships lasted long enough to get to this stage. I don't like to think about him. This definitely isn't something he ever did.

"Wheateena?"

"Don't you remember, that senior citizens' bus tour? Where were they from? That old lady poured Wheateena on my keyboard."

"Why?"

"I guess we'll never know."

"So... about these sweaters?" Josh is a brave man to bring them back up. But he's still rubbing my back so I'm feeling a bit more reasonable.

"Maybe I over-reacted too. I was just trying to make everything perfect for this weekend."

"And you thought matching sweaters would take care of that?"

"Well, sort of. I think there is a pretty good chance someone's going to get you an ugly Christmas sweater. Either one of my siblings- as a joke, or possibly my Mother unintentionally. I thought these sweaters would be a pre-emptive strike. If we were all cutesy people would understand if you didn't change into something else."

"Ah. Well, I'm glad to hear it was all part of a master plan."

"So you hate the sweater? I tried to find something that wasn't too horrible."

"Nah. It's fine. I really did over-react. I guess I'm just a little more tense than I realized. I'm sorry."

"I can't believe our first fight was about matching sweaters. Someday we'll look back at this and laugh, right?"

"Someday we are going to get to have Make Up Sex about this right?"

"Right. But not today."

"I know. I love you."

"I love you too."

My Mom leaves us alone for an hour. I don't know if she heard the bickering or not.

"JOSH! DONNA!" She hollars from the bottom of the stairs. It's always been this way with my family. Either full volume or the silent treatment. I miss the way Josh's mom talks to us. Josh leans over and kisses my forehead.

"Do you need more time?" He asks. I can go down and tell them you aren't feeling well.

"No, the Midol is working. Its almost time for everyone else to get here. I should go help my Mom."


	47. Chapter 47

I follow Donna back down the stairs and into the kitchen. Maybe I can help too. Donna's Mom hands me an antipasto platter and directs me to go put it on the dining room table. When I get out there I see that its covered with all sorts of finger foods. Donna brings out a large pasta salad and puts it on the table.

"Why are the chairs all pushed around the edge of the room?" I ask her.

"We don't really have a sit down meal on Christmas day. The food will be out most of the day. Everyone just eats as they are hungry. You can probably even get away with eating in another room as long as you don't spill."

"No thanks. I don't need to take any chances."

"That's probably wise."

We both go back into the kitchen for another dish. Cheese and crackers, dried fruits and nuts, and more cookies.

The variety of food is a bit overwhelming. Donna starts pointing things out to me.

"That's Plum Pudding." She says pointing to something that doesn't look anything like pudding.

"It's an Irish Christmas tradition. You could try a little. You might like it." Not likely, I think to myself.

"Those are cannoli and those are tradition Italian Christmas cookies. You'd definitely like those."

"Are they dry?"

"No. They're good."

She points to the fruitcake. "Don't eat that."

"Why?" I wouldn't have been tempted anyway, but I'm wondering why she's warning me.

"It's from my Aunt. It's terrible."

"Okay."  
"No, listen. My brothers are probably going to try to trick you into taking a slice. Don't do it. There are somethings you shouldn't have to discover on your own."

Just then the door bursts opens and all the kids start pouring in. They are loud and laughing. It's so different than the quiet Thanksgiving we spent with my Mom, but I don't completely hate it. The kids all dutifully hang their coats in the mudroom and leave their boots on a tray by the door. They are good kids. Bella and Becky have both brought even more food that they are trying to squeeze onto the table.

"Uncle Josh- I made cookies for you." Carly hands me a paper plate wrapped in plastic. Awww.

It's a ginger bread couple. One has bright red hair sticking straight up and the other has long yellow hair.

"Should I eat them now?" I'm not really sure what the etiquette is for eating the cookie version of yourself.

She smiles at me and says happily-

"It's Christmas! You can eat them whenever you want."

"Well, I think I'd better wait and show them to Aunt Donna first. I'm going to hide them up in our room so no one else gets them."

She grins at me and skips off to find Anna.

I start up the stairs toward our room hoping that I don't get caught by Donna's Mom.


	48. Chapter 48

We are all gathered in the living room to open gifts. It's kind of crowded but there is something cozy about all being in the same room at the same time. For as much as Christmas stresses me out, this moment, where we are all together and are all relatively happy, it's worth it.

Josh is sitting next to Aiden and Liam. All three of them are practically vibrating with excitement. In some ways he really is a twelve year old. The difference is while I'm pretty sure that Aiden and Liam can't wait to see what they got, Josh can't wait to see them open their gifts. He genuinely likes giving gifts.

We always joke that I'm in charge of shopping, and when I was his assistant I did do his shopping, but he always had to approve my choices even for people that were just associates. When it came to people he really cared about he ended up picking out something on his own more often than not. My gift has always been a running joke. I always make some sort of outlandish suggestion and he ends up getting the perfect thing.

Our first Christmas was during the first Transition. He had already hired me and we were working hard, but I didn't really expect a gift from my Jewish boss even if we were pretty friendly. Of course, I had teased him a little. I think I had circled a walnut desk with leather chair, and a matching credenza and filing cabinet for my new cubicle. When I left for the night on December 23, I had a Starbucks gift card for him in a Hanakuh card just in case. But I didn't want to make things awkward. He really surprised me though. He handed me a flat box that was poorly wrapped. He had bounced, the way he does, as he said 'Open it!' Inside was an all-year access pass to all the Washington Museums. I'll never forget what he said- 'We won't have a lot of time, but I know you want to see everything. This way you can go for an hour whenever you find the time and you won't have to pay for admission.' It was the most thoughtful thing ever. Thinking back over some of the gifts he's given me over the years, I have to shake my head- how could I have convinced myself that he didn't love me?

I watch him as Anna gives my Mom a "World's Best Grandma" sweatshirt. He rolls his eyes but he's smiling. I thought he'd be restless with the way we open gifts. One at at time, taking turns. It takes a long time. I should have known better. This is probably going to be the best part of the vacation for him. Even if someone does give him an ugly sweater.


	49. Chapter 49

This has been the best part of the visit to Donna's parents. Some of their traditions have been kind of strange but I really like the way they do this. It's not some sort of materialistic free for all. They seem to really be trying to express their love for each other. To be honest, there were moments when I have wondered if they actually do love each other. But right now, I'm seeing it.

Of course, there are rules. They take turns passing out gifts starting with the youngest. So Marco got to pick the first gift to give to someone else. He picked Grandpa so we all watched while he sat on Jim's lap and Jim opened a coffee mug with Marco's picture and handprints on it. It was actually very sweet and watching him with Marco made me feel a lot better about him being Grandpa to my own kids someday.

Next it was Carly's turn. She picked Anna and gave her some sort of bead bracelet. I thought she might pick me- but she did already give me cookies earlier. It was no shock when Liam picked Aiden, then Aiden picked Liam. They both got new baseball socks and certificates to attend a summer fantasy camp. It seems pretty obvious that Bella and Becky planned that.

Now it's Conor's turn. He looks at Becky before choosing and she suggests "that red one for Marco." Carly starts to pout, and again, I see a glimpse of Donna. It's not surprising that Carly wanted to give Marco his gift. I wonder why Becky encouraged Conor to do it. Sean gives Carly a "Dad look" that says knock it off without saying a word. Moments like this scare the bejeeus out of me. How will I learn that look? How will I know when to use it? Is there a book I can read to figure it out?

Conor takes the gift over to Marco and sits next to him. He's very patient as Marco works on the wrapping paper, then he helps him actually get the box open. There is a baby doll & bottle inside. I'm kind of shocked as Conor takes it out and shows Marco how to hold it and feed the baby. This seems like a really enlightened gift for the Mosses. I take a look around and everyone is smiling softly at the picture of Conor and Marco cuddling a baby doll. Then it hits me. Conor is the oldest grandchild. He's the most experienced with welcoming a new baby into the family and Marco is about to get a sibling. I look over at Donna and smile. See, I think to myself, they raised you- how bad could they be?

As I'm watching her, Donna gets up. OH! She's next. I hope she doesn't do any of the kids. I want to do them. I'm pretty relieved when Donna gives her Mom the scarf and brooch she picked out at Thanksgiving. I know she was a little nervous about whether her Mom would like it, but her Mom seems genuinely pleased.

When Donna first told me that her family sent lists and and that there were "approved categories," I thought the Mosses sure know how to suck the fun out of gift giving. When she said we could buy the kids books, clothes and educational toys. I said-

"Come on! Can't we be the cool Aunt & Uncle and give them something they'll really like?"

It took a lot of negotiation but I'm really excited to watch them open their gifts.


	50. Chapter 50

Julie and Finn combine their turns and give Sean and Becky something, but I'm not really paying attention. I'm just watching Josh. He's getting really antsy. I know he wants to give the kids their gifts. I'm curious to see who he picks first. Becky gives Bella a gift, then Bella gives Julie something but I'm still not paying attention. I think Josh is going to spontaneously combust.

Sean is next. He saunters over to the tree and makes a big show of looking for the right box. He pulls out a nicely wrapped shirt box and says "here it is." He grins evils as he hands it to Josh. I roll my eyes. He's so obvious. Josh smiles back and rips into the paper. He takes the lid of the box and stares at it a long time. I get up and come around behind him to get a look. The sweater is cream colored and its got some sort of brightly woven pattern. It really does take a few minutes before I realize that its a giant Marlin. Josh looks up at Sean and says-

"Is that a fish?" Everyone bursts out into laughter.

"Thanks, Man." Josh says.

"Don't you want to go try it on?"

"I would, but you know, Donna and I just look so cute right now." Everyone laughs again and Josh grins.

"It's my turn, right?" He says excitedly. He looks at my Mom and she nodds. He goes over to the tree and pulls a white bag out from behind it. All the kids gifts are inside.

"I know I'm not doing this right, but I hope its okay." He says as he hands Conor, Anna, Aiden, Liam and Carly identically wrapped boxes with their names on them. It's pretty obvious that they are all getting the same thing. He looks at my parents again and even my Mother can't resist the hopeful look on his face.

"It's fine, Josh." She says sweetly. Josh comes over and sits with me as the kids tear into their gifts.

"OH MY GOSH!" Anna practically screams.

"Wow." Conor is quiet, but clearly impressed.

"You're the best!" "These are so cool." Liam and Aiden are also excited.

"Is this what I think it is?" Carly asks "I bet no one else in my class gets one."

Each of them has an Ipod Nano in a different color. I look at my Mom to see if we did okay. She looks happy at the kids' excitement. I'm not sure if she even knows what they are. Their parents are all smiling at them. I checked with Bella and Sean before we picked them out. Josh thought we should just get whatever we wanted but its not that easy. I wanted to make sure none of them was already getting one from their parents or other grandparents. I also wanted to make sure that the younger three weren't too young. Nothing worse than getting a gift your parents won't let you keep. Bella was a little hestitant at first, but once I told her we'd download some classical music to it it and that Sean had already said yes for his three she was on board. She knows the world would've ended if Liam got one and Aiden didn't.

"Kids? What do you say?" Bella looks at all of them pointedly. Like we couldn't tell they are thankful? Still, I guess it is important to teach them manners. We get a chorus of "thank yous" as they all get up and come hug us. Josh is grinning from ear to ear.

Mom and Dad are last. They give Marco a police car that makes lots of noise, then my Mom says- "Let's get some food before round two." Something tells me that the police car will end up disappearing before we all recongregate in the living room.

Round two started with Marco's mug for Grandma. Then it involved a lot of clothing. Anna and Conor seemed pretty happy with the brand name hoodies that they each got. Carly went a little nuts over a tutu skirt from Bella's family, and Liam and Aiden both got baseball jerseys that they high-fived over.

Now its my turn again. Josh whispers in my ear- "Not Marco's." Okay, I don't know even what it is anyway. He wrapped it and packed it himself. I'll give Sean and Becky their gift. Being able to do the couple thing is kind of cool. Josh and I picked out a weekend at a local bed and breakfast for them.

For their turn Julie and Finn send Marco over to Josh and I. It's another shirt box, which Marco practically throws at Josh. I roll my eyes and shake my head. Finn may be the quiet one, but he's not completely innocent. Josh grins as he pulls out a "World of Beer" Shirt. One of Julie's trips to the bathroom must have involved a covert operation.

I'm not paying much attention as Becky gives something to Julie and Bella gives something to Becky because Josh is bouncing next to me again.

Sean's up next. He's been designated to give Mom and Dad their present from all of us. Originally, Josh had wanted to us to give my parents a golf trip and go with them. I convinced him that it was too extravagant and it would look like we were trying to out do the rest of my siblings, but that it was a great idea for a joint gift. Everyone else loved the idea so we are sending them to Florida on their own. Now Josh is happy and I don't have to go golfing. I call that a win-win.

"MY TURN!" Josh announces as soon as my parents finish thanking all of us. He goes over to the tree and finds his gift for Marco. I'm really curious about this. Josh brings a thin flat rectangle gift back over to where I am, then motions Marco over to us. I'm pretty happy that he comes willingly. Good thing he's not shy. He climbs up into Josh's lap and Josh helps him open the package. Once its unwrapped, Josh starts to read "The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge" to Marco, who snuggles right into Josh's arms. When I look up I see my Mother staring at us with a very satisfied look.

Mom and Dad finish Round Two by giving Sean and Becky a Fruit of the Month club and Bella and Bob Dessert of the Month. It's not really surprising. We all know it will be some sort of monthly thing the question is what. I just hope we get Wine.


	51. Chapter 51

As we climb into bed, I smile at Donna.

"See," I tell her, "I knew your family wasn't that bad. That was really fun." She rolls her eyes at me.

"So are you wearing the fish sweater to work on Wednesday? "

" Heck, no. I'll put it on in the morning and wear it until we get to the airport though. Do you think Sean knows it's an ugly sweater?"

"I'm pretty sure he does. But that's part of what makes it funny. We'll never know for sure. And my parents definitely don't know."

"Your family is odd."

"That's what I'm saying."

"The kids liked their presents."

"Yes. They did. Thank you."

"Why are you thanking me?"

" Because I wouldn't have been able to do that without you. I wouldn't have been able to afford it and I wouldn't have been brave enough to try it. They would have all been stuck with socks and underwear."

"Donnnna, please tell me you didn't get them socks and underwear last year."

She giggles. She got me again.

"So naughty." I tickle her ribs. I roll over on my side and smooth her hair off her face. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm tired but I'm okay. I took some more drugs about an hour ago."

"So Coffee of the Month sounds promising."  
"Yeah, but I was hoping for Wine."

"Well, maybe that wouldn't end up working anyway." I smile and trace her face with my fingertip. It sort of scares the crap out of me but I really do hope that she has to give up alcohol sometime in the next year.

"That's probably what my Mother is hoping."  
"I don't care what our Mothers want. What about you?"

"Yeah. I think I'd like that." It seems like she's getting kind of drowsy. I run my finger across her eyebrows and she closes her eyes for a long minute.

Just when I think she's asleep, she opens them up again and says sleepily-

"Josh?"

"Yeah."

"Thanks for coming here with me."

"Any time."

"Let's go home."

"Tomorrow."

"Okay."


End file.
